A Consolidated Edison crew at work on Seaver Avenue. Electricians in the QuikStart program piggyback on the utility's operations in storm-hit neighborhoods to expedite the restoration of electric service.Staten Island Advance/Jan Somma-Hammel

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A new program is helping to restore electrical service to thousands of residents of Staten Island's shore-front communities that were ravaged by the hurricane.

"QuikStart" provides for the services of an electrician at no cost to the homeowner.

On Monday, the program being coordinated through the offices of Borough President James P. Molinaro and City Councilmen James Oddo and Vincent Ignizio saw more than 80 Staten Island residents restored to Consolidated Edison's grid. On Tuesday, 100-plus were restored, according to Molinaro.

"With 80 homes re-energized in one morning, the test case has proven an undeniable success. Now we can start expanding the program to hundreds of homes currently without power due to Hurricane Sandy," Oddo said.

The cost of the mandatory evaluation and certification by an electrician is being underwritten by the Tunnel to Towers Hurricane Relief Fund. But note that if damage to wiring is uncovered, repairs are the responsibility of the homeowner.

Last week, Con Edison told residents who live in Flood Zone A that they had to hire their own electricians to inspect their residences, regardless of whether they suffered damage, before power would be turned back on.

According to the utility, as of Tuesday night, there were 1,351 customers who still had to submit certifications from private electricians in order to have power restored.

"The QuikStart program is a boon to the restoration process because the electricians and Con Edison employees are in the field at the same time, within the same area," said Mark Irving, a Con Edison spokesman. "The electricians will inspect customers' internal electrical equipment, complete the certification form on the spot, and turn it over to the Con Edison representative who authorizes restoration of power. We commend the borough president and councilmen for making this possible."

Molinaro said the program works this way: Con Edison contacts Borough Hall each morning at 5:30 a.m. and lets them know what "grid" they will be working on. In turn, the QuikStart team of certified electricians, provided by Walsh Electric, walks from house to house in that area to certify homes so the power can be restored.

"It's like Christmas tree lights," Molinaro explained. "Each house is a light [bulb]. [Some] houses have been contaminated, so you can't just throw the switch on all of them. This doesn't mean every house was violated by salt water, but you have to find out if they were and get a certificate before the power is turned back on."

Added Molinaro: "If you had about one and a half feet of water in your basement, there is some contamination -- but only to the outlets. So what the electrician does is disconnect the lines that go into the fuse box controlling those outlets, then the rest of the house can be powered. Then [the homeowner] has the responsibility later on to repower those outlets."

Homeowners needing repairs can secure the services of an electrician through New York City Rapid Repairs, which involves getting a FEMA ID number and calling 311.

"[QuikStart] utilizes private-sector electricians, working in coordination with my office and the councilmen's offices, to get power returned to homes," Molinaro said. "Most storm victims just want to return to a house with electric power so they can get their lives back in order and begin the process of repairing their homes."

QuikStart program will continue for several weeks. "We know this is a priority for Staten Islanders, and this was the fastest way to get professional electricians to the affected neighborhoods and restore power," said Ignizio.

For more information on the program, e-mail siquikstart@statenislandusa.com or call the Borough President's Helpline, 718-816-2000. If you live in Zone A and still don't have power, Con Edison asks that you call 718-390-6373 or 718-390-6387.